CYCLING
Sagan leads Tour of Poland
Slovak rider Peter Sagan of the Liquigas team held the Tour of Poland lead after winning the fifth stage over 201.5km around Zakopane on Thursday. Sagan, 21, won a sprint finish ahead of Australian riders Michael Matthews of Rabobank and Heinrich Haussler of Team Garmin.
Photo: EPA
FOOTBALL
Eagles player hospitalized
Eagles defender Mike Patterson has been diagnosed with a brain condition that could require surgery after suffering a seizure in practice, the NFL team said on Thursday. Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder said Patterson was found to have arteriovenous malformation, which is a tangling of blood vessels near the skull. “We’re pretty sure it’s what caused the seizure and we’re pretty sure it’s not football related,” Burkholder said. “It just so happened at football practice. It could’ve happened anywhere.” Patterson, 28, was hospitalized after the seizure on Wednesday morning at the team’s training camp. Burkholder said the player had been put on medication to prevent another seizure and could have surgery, although that was not certain. “In medicine today, there’s tons of options,” Burkholder said. “Everybody wants to jump right into surgery and I’m not saying for this particular case, I’m saying with everything, but there’s so many other avenues out there. It would be foolish to speculate what’s going to happen to Mike.” It was not immediately clear whether Patterson would be able to resume training with the team.
BASEBALL
Molina banned for spittle
St Louis Cardinals All-Star catcher Yadier Molina has been suspended five games by Major League Baseball on Thursday for making contact with an umpire and spraying him with spittle during a heated confrontation. The incident occurred when Molina, who was also fined an undisclosed amount for his actions, was ejected from Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers for arguing a called third strike during the 10th inning. St Louis went on to win the game 8-7 in 11 innings. The three-time All-Star is batting .293 with 40 runs batted in this season for a Cardinals team that is three-and-a-half-games back of the NL Central division-leading Brewers.
SOCCER
Mexico recalls dopers
Mexico have included four players suspended for doping at the Gold Cup in their squad to face the US in a friendly on Wednesday in Philadelphia where Juergen Klinsmann will make his debut as US head coach. Five players had tested positive for clenbuterol and were booted out of the Gold Cup in June, but they escaped punishment from the country’s soccer association because they ingested the banned substance accidentally by eating tainted meat. Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, defender Francisco Rodriguez and midfielders Antonio Naelson “Sinha” and Christian Bermudez were named in the squad on Thursday. Defender Edgar Duenas was not named part of the squad. Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez was not included in the squad named by coach Jose Manuel de la Torre, whose team beat the US 4-2 in the Gold Cup final on June 25.
FOOTBALL
49ers ink receiver Edwards
Pro Bowl wide receiver Braylon Edwards and the San Francisco 49ers agreed to a one-year deal, the National Football League team said on Thursday. Terms were not announced, but according to local media reports the deal was for US$3.5 million. Edwards had 53 catches for 904 yards and seven touchdowns last season for the New York Jets. Taken with the third overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2005 NFL draft, Edwards has amassed 326 career receptions for 5,142 yards and 39 touchdowns. In 2007, he broke the Browns’ single-season records for receiving yards (1,289) and touchdown receptions (16) earning a Pro Bowl selection.
SOCCER
Fans cry ‘fowl’ over ad
Blackburn Rovers fans have slammed a new TV ad to promote their Indian owners’ chicken products, complaining that it has turned the Premier League team into a laughing stock. The 25-second ad, which has appeared on screens in recent weeks in India, sees the northern English side in full kit and huddled in the dressing room as if having a pre-match team talk. The players then cross themselves for good luck before the camera pulls back to reveal them eagerly tucking into plates of a variety of flavored chicken wings produced by owners Venky’s, an Indian poultry giant. One Blackburn season-ticket holder wrote in a letter to the local Lancashire Evening Telegraph that the soccer players’ performance in the ad was “an utter embarrassment to the reputation of Blackburn Rovers. I am appalled to see my players being exploited for the pure purpose of raising the profile of the owners’ products. We have become the laughing stock of the football world,” she added.
ATHLETICS
Runners cleared for worlds
The French athletics federation (FFA) cleared middle-distance runners Mehdi Baala and Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad on Thursday to compete in the world championships.Baala and Mekhissi--Benabbad, both Olympic medallists, had been provisionally suspended by the FFA after trading punches at the end of the 1,500m race during last month’s Herculis meeting in Monaco. The FFA’s disciplinary committee met on Thursday and gave both a 10 month suspension — with five months suspended — from all European Athletics and IAAF track meets. However, the FFA said the punishments “do not prevent the parties concerned from being selected for the France team” for the world championships which start on Aug. 27 in Daegu, South Korea. Both men were also fined 1,500 euros (US$2,130) and ordered to do 50 hours of community service.
CRICKET
Former England player dies
Former England all-rounder Allan Watkins has died aged 89, his former county Glamorgan confirmed on Thursday. Watkins died on Wednesday following a short illness, having secured his place in cricket history by becoming the first Glamorgan player to score a Test century, making 111 against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1949. He named his house “Ellis Park” in honor of the venue where he made that hundred. Left-hander Watkins’ first of 15 Tests at The Oval in 1948, was also Australia great Don Bradman’s last. Of the England team that day, only Watkins’s fellow debutant, John Dewes, survives, along with Australia’s Arthur Morris, Neil Harvey and Sam Loxton. Watkins made 407 appearances for Glamorgan, scoring 17,419 runs and taking 774 wickets as a swing and seam bowler while he was also a renowned close-catcher.
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Starting with three fights in the first nine seconds and ending with a celebration and a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final, the US on Saturday delivered exactly what Matthew Tkachuk hoped for by beating Canada. “We needed to send a message,” Tkachuk said. “The message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time.’” Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett the next time the puck dropped, J.T. Miller dropped the gloves with Colton Parayko next and the Americans followed those fisticuffs with a 3-1 victory over their biggest rival. “That was one of the
Porto and AS Roma on Thursday drew 1-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff, while Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce took a big step toward the last 16 with a 3-0 win over RSC Anderlecht. Zeki Celic gave 2023 runners-up Roma the lead in first-half stoppage-time in Portugal, but Porto defender Francisco Moura’s deflected strike ensured the teams head to Italy next week with the tie finely poised. Roma played the final 18 minutes a man down after Bryan Cristante was sent off for two yellow cards, with coach Claudio Ranieri fuming at the final whistle. In Turkey, former English Premier